Saturday, 30 June 2007

SLLU are involved in a few exciting projects around Second Life - two of which are detailed here - more to follow. All of these projects are designed by our members to facilitate learning.

I'D KILL FOR A COFFEE

There are coffee shops on every high street.Places like Starbucks and Costa Coffee have become common place. SLLU have opened a coffee shop in Second Life - click on one of the images below for a slurl - if you are logged into sl, you will be tp'ed there. If you are not yet a Second Lifer, click on the image and then follow the instructions on how to set up free membership and when you have arrived in SL - look up Second Life Left Unity group!

Farmers only get around 10p of every £2.00 or more we spend on coffee – and that proportion is diminishing as free trade rules slice off more of their living standards.Even Fair Trade products are not addressing the poverty the coffee industry is creating.

The coffee trade is at the moment controlled almost entirely by four multinational companies – Kraft Foods, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble and Sara Lee. They sell coffee as a standardized retail good – sold at a relatively constant price. This masks wildly fluctuating prices on the commodity markets.And these prices have been falling since, in the past decade, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have been deregulating the market.The IMF and WTO use Third World Debt to make countries turn more of their land over to producing cash crops such as coffee. This is the Irish Famine writ large.Entire countries forced to grow for export, while their own people starve.The result? – Multinationals make HUGE profits from coffee while the 25 million growers are forcedinto poverty. Around 70 percent of coffee is grown on small farms in Africa, East Asia and Latin America.Some non-governmental organizations are taking the coffee companies to task, but it is a drop in the ocean. The history of coffee is tied to capitalism – don’t forget that the first financial markets such as Lloyds and the London Stock Exchange where started in coffee shops.The London Stock exchange and the capitalists who used/ use it to make money have profited from the coffee trade from supplying slaves, insuring ships and supplying finance to coffee merchants.The emergence of an international market altered the balance of power in the trade in favour of importers. The New York Coffee Exchange was set up in 1882 to prevent producers from banding together.

The pictures below show some of the stunning creations you have made at the Cre8 Garden in memory and tribute to the victims of Capitalism/Capitalist Globalisation. Please click on any of the images to take you to the garden (if you are logged into SL - if not, and dont have an account, click on the images and you can create a free account, and then join in on our Second Life Left Unity work).

has proved that the left have the artists! Well done to all who have taken part and all of those who are going to.

SLLU are now working towards aquiring our own land for a new and exciting ongoing proposed project - details of which to follow later in the week.

In order that we can expand, and connect with as many people in SL as possible, we are now looking for content-creators who are interested in participating in our new ventures. Currently, we are in the process of setting up a space where we will give away creations, donated by members, to residents of SL, who can then contribute a voluntary donation if they wish (or not, as the case may be!).

SO! if you are a content-creator, and are interested in donating content you have made, and having a venue to show-case it, be it overtly politically-themed, or just playful/dorky/useful/experimental - whatever! please get in touch for further details, and/or send your full-perms content to either myself (higgleDpiggle Snoats), Eremia Woodbury, or Plot Tracer.

thanks again for your continuing support!higgledpiggle snoats

OUR CHARTER:

The SLLU seeks creative, non violent means to foster revolutionary social dialogue. We oppose capitalism, as well as racism and sexism as a part of capitalism. Our goal is to develop socialism in order to maximise left activity and thought on SL.

SLLU originated from members of the Scottish SSP, and is now part of a world wide left unity movement in SL. We are a diverse group, united around social justice and anti-capitalism. We are a democratic collective.

Saturday, 23 June 2007

Would you like to go to a sneak preview of my new film, "Sicko," before it opens on June 29th? Well, if you live anywhere near the 32 cities listed below, this Saturday night, June 23rd, our movie studio is going to hold sneak screenings of "Sicko" in 43 theaters across the country. I'd love for you to be one of the first to see it so, if you'd like, you can click here and order tickets now. We'd love to see you there.

Also, if you live in the New York City area we are opening the film tomorrow (Friday, June 22) exclusively at one theater, the AMC Lincoln Square for a first week run. The interest in the film is very high and theaters have been asking us to open it as soon as possible. Alright, already! It opens tomorrow in NYC, the sneak previews are Saturday around the country, and we open nationwide next Friday, the 29th.

Last night we screened "Sicko" for the members of Congress and the Senate in Washington, D.C. Earlier in the day we testified during a briefing in Congress called by the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Rep. John Conyers, Jr. I brought with me some of the people who appear in the film to tell their stories -- and it was a powerful moment.

I will write again next week, before "Sicko" opens nationwide on the 29th. I'm so excited, after spending the last couple of years working on this film, that you all will finally be able to see it.

Wednesday, 20 June 2007

In the next two days, Congress will vote on an amendment to close the notorious School of the Americas/WHINSEC. The School of the Americas, funded by our tax dollars and located at Ft. BenningGeorgia, has trained -for more than 60 years- over 60,000 Latin American Soldiers in torture, psychological warfare and war against civilian populations. Many of the tactics of Abu Ghraib and GuantanamoBay began at the SOA to be used on civilians and those working for justice in Latin America. This school has graduated the worst human rights abusers in Latin American History. Rep. McGovern (MA) and Rep. John Lewis (GA) will introduce an amendment to the Foreign Operations appropriations bill to cut funding for the SOA/ WHINSEC and stand up against the legacy of torture as a part of US Foreign Policy!

Last year, in a similar vote, ANSWER (http://www.answercoalition.org/) activists made a decisive difference in challenging the school. We are continuing to support the work of the School of the Americas Watch (SOAW), which has carried on a long campaign to shut this institution down.

We expect a close vote and need as many people as possible flooding the offices of the House of Representatives with calls, e-mails and faxes in support of a YES vote on the amendment everyday through June 8th. This is it! You can make a difference and it's the people power of our movement that will get this amendment passed! Send an e-mail and free fax to Congress by using this link:

Very active group of resistance. We are against mutualized sleeping, conscioussness frozing, unilatreal thinking, prozac politic, and nethique bobo chic raised to oyster art. L'Archipel Rouge is a group composed by members engaged in left militantism through rizomic webbing.

I arrived in Rostock in the early afternoon of June 2. It was alreadyclear that a large demo was in progress as large numbers of people weregathered in front of the train station. I joined a contingent of Turkey'sPlatform for Rights and Freedoms (HOC), who marched in a bloc that alsoincluded the Internationalist League of People's Struggle (mostly TurkishMaoists) and the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party and a few other, smallergroups from Turkey. They in turn seem to have been part of an"anti-imperialist bloc", with some German organisations. The compositionof the demo was very mixed, especially politically. It looked like theoverwhelming majority were from Germany.The march was long but uneventful. The police could be s een in thedistance, down side streets. I don't know how many people were in themarch - the nearest I can put it is tens of thousands.

Nothing much happened until people got to the end of the march, in a kindof harbour area where there was a sort of raised platform. There was saidto be trouble up ahead but there was a screen of trees off to the leftwhich made it difficult to see well. Many of us moved forward to see whatwas happening, with people shouting out to keep together and if necessarykeep arms linked. Sometimes demonstrators would throw stones, then runlike hell, and there would be a police rush.

Off to the left there was clearly some kind of clash, with stones thrownby demonstrators and police charges. At some point I had been handed a redflag to hold and I was waving it. Suddenly there was a police rush, theywere like a green blur and one of them grabbed my flag. I hung onto it andhe started hitting me, I think helped by another one. I fe lt hits to myface and arm and then I was hit in the groin and fell to the ground, atthis point losing the flag. I was conscious of being hit while on the ground.A German tried to help me up and backed off when there was some aggressivereaction from the cops. I remember making a victory sign at nearbydemonstrators from Turkey while I was on the ground. The German or anotherone tried again to help me to my feet and was successful as I was pulledback into the crowd, and led to the back by one of my friends. I wasstopped by a German with some kind of camera and mike and asked whathappened. I explained in German to camera. I was perhaps smiling a bit,which might not have appeared appropriate, but I was relieved at no longerbeing a punching bag and being back among friends and the adrenalinbrought forth by an emergency may have kicked in as well.A German demonstrator offered me a sip of beer and then I moved to nearthe stage. One of the demonstrators I wa s with, from Hamburg, had hadpepper gas sprayed in his face and was in a worse way than me, though heseemed to recover later on.

A German asked me if I had been hit by a stone thrown by a demonstrator orby the police. I said the police, and he lost interest - it was a sign ofthe divisions among demonstrators. If I had been hit by a stone thrower hemight have been more interested, I think. The march was divided intomilitant Autonomen/the "black bloc", some of whom needed no encouragementto mix it with the police and throw stones, and pacifists. The"anti-imperialist bloc" were not trying to provoke the police but ifattacked would try to resist, but we were something of a stationary targetfor the cops and if they couldn't catch the stone throwers they wouldsettle for us.

At a certain point I went with others to an anti-G8 encampment nearRostock. There were several police helicopters over the camp and there wasan air of tension, and some speculation that the police would raid thecamp to break it up. There was discussion round a camp fire near the tentwhere I was, about the need to organise to defend the camp etc.Eventually I went to sleep in the tent. Nothing happened during the verycold night.The following day I went to the camp first aid centre, as my injuries werebothering me, especially the groin one. A doctor came and said the damagewas superficial. He said the testicular bruising would go down after awhile. We discussed why the cop had targetted there, apart from ithurting. He said it was a macho way of attacking someone else'smasculinity. I said, "Es sind Schweine, nicht wahr?" ("They are pigs,aren't they?") He replied, "Ja, Schweine." (Further note: as of theevening of the 7th, most of my Sheridan zone is still a disturbing indigocolour.)

Earlier that day a German who was in Workers Power's "Revolution" youthnetwork said he had seen me get beaten up by the police the day befor eand asked me if I was OK.

Later that day I went with the others I knew to Berlin. It was decided notto stay in the camp and we were not equipped for a long stay in thecampsite anyway. At Rostock station there was a police rush against somedemonstrators but we got onto the train all right. After the evening ofJune 3, all my info about the G8 came from the media. This tended to playup demonstrator violence - it was claimed that dozens of police wereseverely injured. However, the left-wing German daily Junge Welt on June 6reported that when it contacted the police they were told that only twopolice had actually been taken to hospital and one of them had beendischarged. Junge Welt said that the scale of police injuries wasexaggerated in the media to whip up hysteria and justify policerepression, as well as encourage the feeling that injured demonstratorswere getting what they deserved. There were calls from right-wingpoliticians for plastic bullets a nd even live ammunition to be usedagainst demonstrators.

Reports in the media and on the Internet have suggested all kinds ofscenarios. One YouTube shows police suddenly attacking some demonstratorsat a time when everything looked peaceful, thus triggering clashes. Ididn't see it myself, but a police car was parked close to thedemonstration and was attacked. The question arises, why was it there? Wasit bait placed there by police who hoped it would get attacked and givethem a pretext to start charging at demonstrators? I have also mentionedthe divisions among the marchers, who were everything from militantmilitants to militant pacifists. It was reported on subsequent days thatthere were clashes between the Autonomen and other demonstrators. Thedemonstrator who asked me if I had been hit by a rock may have been hopingto wave me as a bloody shirt in a campaign against the Autonomen. On theother hand, the people throwing rocks were clearly unconcerned that othersmight pay the price for their actions.

I stayed in Berlin a few days, and returned to London on the evening ofthe 6th. I wondered if going through passport control might cause me to bestopped and questioned at either the Berlin or the London end, but nothinghappened. On the 7th, I posted a message on German Indymedia saying I hadbeen injured and asking if there was anywhere I needed to report the fact.I have since been trying to find film of my own scuffle on the Internet,so far without success, though I was told something of it had beenbroadcast on TV.

Come to the Cre8 Garden and help create something worthwhile - a memorial to the past present and future victims of Globalisation/capitalism. And let’s put pressure on our politicians to ensure a fair world for everyone.

Click on the link - and if u have second life running it will take you there. If you donot have second life the link will take you to the free download page:

Saturday, 9 June 2007

The SLLU welcome the scottish teaching union, EIS, decision to ban army recruitment from schools.

This despicable practise, in which the army recruitment officers act like the "Child Catcher" in the film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!" centres, enevitably, in those areas devastated by the ruinous policies of Thatcher, Bush, Reagan, Major and Blair. Our poor are dying in the foriegn oil fields in order to fill the pockets of the rich.

STOP THE SLAUGHTER! BRING OUR BOYS HOME!

GELDOF G8 - "BOLLOCKS!"

Even the liberal Blairite fan, Bob Geldof, has called the latest G8 summit "Bollocks" and a sham. He has said of the deal between the leaders of the richest eight nations – all of whom are millionaires - , "This wasn't serious, this was a total farce... I won't have it spun as anything else except a farce."

Come to the Cre8 Garden and help create something worthwhile - a memorial to the past present and future victims of Globalisation/capitalism. And let’s put pressure on our politicians to ensure a fair world for everyone.

Capitalism Kills. Come plant a flower (there is one on this notice) at the Cre-8 Anti-G8/Capitalism Garden in memory of all of the victims of this violent world system we live in.

It is an indictment of the current world system that

1. that there are more people in the world in poverty than not

2. there is enough food in the world to feed everyone, yet millions starve and millions die of obesity

3. the gap between the incomes of the richest and poorest countries was about 3 to 1 in 1820 and over 72 to 1 nowadays

4. The amount of food spent on pet food in the US and Europe each year equals the additional amount needed to provide basic food and health care for all the people in poor countries with a sizeable amount left over.

5. WOMEN AND CHILDREN MAKE UP 76% of poor people in the US (institute for women’s policy research 2001) 7. $13billion a year would satisfy the worlds sanitation and food needs (about as much as the people of the US and European Union spend each year on perfume)

6. The 225 richest people in the world have a combined wealth of more than $1 trillion - equal to the annual income of the poorest 47% of the earths population, some 2.5 BILLION people.

7. Former chief economist of the World Bank, Joseph Stiglitz in his book "Making Globalisation Work" admits that globalisation makes some people poorer and that Africa has gotten poorer since the 1980's while wages for the av American family have fallen as the US continues to borrow $2 billion a day from the rest of the world.

8. 42 million Americans live in poverty - 25.3% are American Indians and Alaskan natives; 24.9 % are Black; 21.8% are Hispanics; 11.1% are Asians and 8.3 % are whites - see above for a breakdown on how many are women.

9. A Canadian study shows that the wealthiest nations do not have the healthiest people. instead, it is the countries such as Norway and Cuba with the smallest economic gap between rich and poor.

Capitalism has failed - it is an unsustainable economic model - its central premise of unlimited economic growth is impossible to achieve in a world of finite resources. we are subordinating life to commerce, rather than commerce to life.

Thursday, 7 June 2007

Over the past few days, groups on SL opposed to Globalisation have organised demonstrations against the G8, whom are at the present meeting in Rostock, Germany. There have been G8 demonstrations outside Reuters and other places. Tonight there will be a mass demo at the Linden Mansion.

SLLU have set up a "Tribute Garden" for people to go place either a flower, a candle - or a tribute of their own choosing on the site in memory of the millions of victims of globalisationIsla Montevideo (41, 185, 32)

SLLU commend all of those who have organised and have taken part in these demonstrations against a cabal of self elected owners and distributers of the worlds assets. This cabal have tried to "sell" off some of the poorest countries water resources to the highest bidder. This is shameful and has led to demonstrations across the world.

A concerted effort by British campaigners has meant that Nepal's water system is safe, for now, from the profiteers.

Vicky Cann, the World Development Movement’s water campaigner said:

“Time and again water privatisation has failed to connect the poor in the developing world to affordable drinking water. That’s why the WDM joined campaigners from Nepal in calling for Severn Trent to withdraw from this contract.

“It is shocking to now learn, from media reports, that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is threatening to terminate its multi-million dollar loan if the privatisation element of the project is not fulfilled. It is yet another blatant example of a donor trying to bully a poor country into doing what it wants. It is good to see that the minister in charge will not be railroaded by the ADB into privatising Kathmandu’s water supply before reviewing more options.”

Gopal Chintan, coordinator of the Water and Energy Users' Federation-Nepal said:

"People in Nepal are against multinational companies taking over Nepal's drinking water supply and we are pleased that Severn Trent has withdrawn its bid. What Kathmandu needs is public investment in its water supply and management - to cut the 40 per cent plus leakage rate and upgrade the water supply network served by the many small local rivers, springs and ponds,"